Trainer (33)

Energy (13)

“I chose to play Buzzwole GX/Garbodor for this event because it looked like a good play coming off of Saint Louis. Mainly, I wanted to test the deck and see if it would be something that I might want to play for League Cups. This was the exact 60 card list that took second place at Saint Louis, and it ran fairly well for me.

One change that I would consider making is dropping the fighting fury belts for choice bands, and then playing either an Oricorio or Mewtwo to help against Buzzwole GX decks. The other potential change I could see making is cutting one of the Carbink BREAK for a super rod, as I felt that running two was not necessary and having a way to get back a Buzzwole GX or an extra energy might have been better. Overall, I enjoyed playing the deck and it is a top pick of mine going forward.”

*Due to Matt Fosnot and Cody Boyd having very similar lists, their interviews were not taken.

Energy (13)

“For the third month in a row I decided to play Zoroark GX/Buzzwole with Octillery and made my third straight top cut with it. There is no denying how strong both Zoroark GX and Buzzwole GX are in the current meta, however, most players feel that both of these two cards have better partners. My decks tries to play both and really accentuate both of their strengths.

Usually the first thing people ask when looking at this list is 'why would you play Octillery when you already are playing Zoroark GX?' The obvious answer is the more cards I draw, the higher chance I have to get max elixirs for a turn two Absorption GX. When a player has a typical opening start of playing ultra ball for Tapu Lele GX to wonder tag into Brigette and then attaching a energy card, your hand is already down to two or three cards. In a list without Octillery, if I have a second Ultra Ball for my fallowing turn, I either have to Bench a second Tapu Lele GX for Cynthia, or eliminate most of my hand for Zoroark GX and who knows what resources I am getting rid of to get this first trade ability on line. But with Octillery, those same cards can turn into a four or five card abyssal hand, which could turn into max elixirs, Zoroark GX, and a supporter for turn two.

The only card I really want to squeeze in is Mallow, which can work well with Zoroark GX, but I can not pick what I would like to cut for it. I feel this deck has both the consistency and Power to become a top tier deck if more people choose to play it.”

Energy (7)

“I promised myself after bombing a few league cups due to dead draw that I would never play a deck without Zoroark GX again. My good friend Kenny Britton just placed well with a Golisopod GX/Zoroark GX deck at regionals, so I decided to use his list. It was a great deck, but ironically the games I lost were because of dead draws. List is near perfect, so I do not know if I would change anything, other than maybe find room for an Oranguru.”

Energy (12)

“I went with Garchomp/Lucario for this event because it has an excellent prize trade in a meta where Zoroark GX is everywhere. A lot of decks struggle to hit 150 without the assistance of choice band, which means Garchomp can usually survive the first attack. On the other end, it can very easily to hit 200, then 210 or 230 if needed for a one hit knock out on most things in the format. If I am getting one hit knock outs on two prize attackers while forcing my opponent to get a one hit knock out in return, I am in a very good spot. The deck may fall behind in the early game, but it is not difficult to make up those prizes.

The specific card choices in the deck were designed to do two things: set up as consistently as possible and maximize Lucario's free search every turn. A first turn Brigette into Beacon from Aloloan Vulpix with an energy on board puts a ton of pressure on the opponent, forcing them to have a N or Guzma to disrupt me. The Gible with the Rock Hiding ability is definitely the best choice for this reason, as ascension into Gabite leaves you a sitting duck, but preserving that energy on the bench is really important for a 2 attachment attacker.

The deck's worst match ups are Buzzwole GX/Garbodor and Gardevoir GX. If I was to make changes to the deck, I would probably add a Mewtwo to serve as a Buzzwole GX counter. There is a few downstream changes that come from that, like a second choice band to help make Mewtwo and fighting Garchomp more consistent and replacing the exp. Share/devoured field combo, and with a two retreat cost attacker, float stone becomes better than escape board. A second field blower would also help against Garbodor. Lucario GX had yet to come out when the tournament began, and I am not sure what I think about it here. You could probably afford to go two Lucario and one Lucario GX to have an additional one attachment attacker.”

Energy (8)

“I picked Zoroark GX/Weavile because I wanted to try it out after it's second place finish at Malmo regionals. The list I used was an exact copy of the list that took second.

The whole list is built like a standard Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX deck, which unless you're able to take one hit KOs with Weavile, the deck functions like a worse Zoroark GX/Golisopod GX deck. Overall the deck was pretty 'meh' and I probably won't play it again.”

Trainer (33)

Energy (14)

“As of early March, out of all the games I played, Ho-Oh GX was the most consistent deck for me. And because of the recent changes to the meta, it made this deck even stronger. Fighting resistance right now is great with Buzzwole GX everywhere, and being able to take one hit knock outs when everyone else is doing two hit KOs, plus the fact that Gardevoir GX has faded from the meta, are all reasons why I decided to play this deck. Plus, I have also started to do better against Gardevoir GX.

I run both max elixirs and a 2-2 Salazzle line, which helps a lot with streaming attackers and Salazzle can be clutch in many match ups as well. Using the GX attack to discard energies can be enough to win games against Buzzwole GX, Gardevoir GX, and the mirror match. Playing switch cards other than float stone means you can more consistently hit a choice band for Ho-Oh GX to to deal 210. And my testing showed both Wobbuffet and Dawn Wings Necrozma GX are more liabilities than aids. Without them, you can play a small bench when ability locked and barely be hindered. Finally, I lowered the count of Tapu Lele GX down to two due the hindrance of starting it.”

Once again, I would like to thank all 82 players who participated in our March tournament. If you would like to join us for more great tournaments and free prizes, please click the link below, where you can wins Tournament Points towards the 60Cards Online Invitational, playmats and PTCGO codes. It is free and anyone is welcome to join.